From “The King and The Clown” to “Again My Life”, Lee Joon Gi proves his superb acting in diverse roles
Lee Joon Gi never fails to show how versatile he is by pulling off different roles.
Lee Joon Gi was born on April 17, 1982 in Busan, Korea. When he was still in high school, he already began to develop his passion for acting. At the age of 18, he left his hometown and went to Seoul to seek an opportunity. He used to do many manual labor jobs to earn a living. After being accepted into the acting department at the Seoul Institute of the Arts, he got his first acting gigs in commercials. The beginning of Lee Joon Gi‘s acting career was not easy as he went through many failed auditions.
An effeminate clown
Lee Joon Gi shot to fame in the early days of his career when he landed his first leading role in the critically acclaimed film “The King and the Clown”. Lee Joon Gi plays the gorgeous and effeminate street clown Gong Gil who gets into a homosexual love triangle set in a 16th-century Joseon royal court with another male clown and the king. Lee Joon Gi’s “flower boy” beauty and captivating acting skills shown through his expressive eyes and every subtle gesture show how perfectly he portrays the character of Gong Gil.
Lee Joon Gi’s excellent transformation into an introspective and feminine clown helped him become widely known not only in Korea but also across Asia. This also remains Lee Joon Gi’s most successful cinema role. To this day, Lee Joon Gi still expresses how grateful he is for Gong Gil, his first-ever movie role that allowed him to best shine with his love for acting.
A warm man in a sad and romantic tale
“Never Said Goodbye” marks the first collaboration of Lee Joon Gi with top Chinese actress Zhou Dongyu. In the film, Lee Joon Gi plays Jun Ho, the boyfriend of Xiaoyou (Zhou Dongyu). They work at the same design company in Shanghai. One day, Jun-Ho calls it quits with Xiaoyou to return to Sicily, Italy to study Opera, leaving her behind.
Jun Ho’s decision opens up many details that present emotions about love, sacrifice, and choice in life. The mesmerizing beauty and charming acting performance of Lee Joon Gi when he acted alongside Zhou Dongyu created enjoyable and believable chemistry. Lee Joon Gi‘s great talent in acting with his eyes played a major role in his successful portrayal of Jun Ho.
A mysterious and tough man
In “Flower of Evil”, Lee Joon Gi appears as Baek Hee Sung, a kind husband of the pretty police officer Cha Ji Won (Moon Chae Won) and also a warm-hearted father. In fact, Baek Hee Sung is just a perfect cover created by Do Hyeon Soo, the son of a serial killer. Do Hyeon Soo was also suspected to be a murderer and the person who helped his father commit his crimes.
Do Hyeon Soo is a complicated role that requires the actor to show various emotional changes. Do Hyeon Soo is said to have a psychological disorder and that’s why he believes he doesn’t have any emotion.
With his perfect transformation into the character Do Hyeon Soo in “Flower of Evil”, Lee Joon Gi continued to prove his acting skills and gain huge love from the viewers. The way he changed his expressions and images from a nice husband and warm father to a cold-hearted and mysterious murder suspect with sharp eyes left a great impression on the audience.
A righteous and determined prosecutor
Lee Joon Gi recently made his first comeback on the small screen in 2 years with “Again My Life”. This drama is based on a web novel of the same name. In “Again my Life”, Lee Joon Gi plays the enthusiastic prosecutor Kim Hee Woo. While investigating a corruption case, he got killed by the politician Jo Tae Seob. However, Kim Hee Woo was given a chance to be reborn with a new life to take revenge.
With only the first 4 episodes released, Lee Joon Gi once again certified his excellent acting ability. Turning 40 this year, Lee Joon Gi still portrayed the character Kim Hee Woo, who is much younger than his real age, perfectly with his youthful visuals and energy.
Playing a prosecutor, Lee Joon Gi showed his brave and tough side in many scenes when facing the gang led by Tae Seob. However, when traveling back to 15 years ago and living his second life as a young man, Lee Joon Gi touched the viewers with his emotional acting in the scenes when Hee Woo met his parents, who had already passed away, again. From that moment, Hee Woo gained the courage to fix everything he had missed and re-investigate the unsolved case related to Jo Tae Seob.
Released on April 8th, “Again My Life” immediately received explosive responses from the drama fans. Lee Joon Gi’s passionate acting once again drew compliments from both the audience and critics. Therefore, “Again My Life” is expected to become one of the best works in Lee Joon Gi’s filmography.
